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ORLANDO — There's no time for it now, not with free agents to woo, draft prospects to evaluate, a new city to get used to and a house still to buy, but when Matt Patricia finally has a few minutes to himself this summer, the new Detroit Lions coach has big plans to conquer.

“I’m going to sleep," Patricia said Tuesday. "That’s going to be No. 1. Very excited about that."

He was half-joking – reacquainting himself with his family is No. 1 on Patricia's summer to-do list – but the bigger point remains: Not quite two months into his first foray as head coach, Patricia is keeping a breakneck pace that's barely slowed down at the junket known as the NFL's annual spring meeting.

In Orlando, with his family in tow, Patricia's days have been swallowed up by meetings, interviews and other league business that's both new and soon-to-be-normal to the man the Lions have entrusted with helping them find playoff success. Business like posing for a headshot (with pencil) for the Madden football video game.

"I’ll say the only thing that was cool about that, my oldest son is to the age where he is starting to learn about video games even though we don’t have video games in the house," Patricia said. "And that’s the one game that all of his friends must talk about, so when I was leaving the room to go down, I’m like, 'Hey buddy, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you in a little bit.' He’s like, 'Where you going?' I’m like, 'I don’t know. They’re going to take a picture for Madden,' and his eyes like lit up and he thought that was like the coolest thing ever."

Patricia is admittedly in "the honeymoon phase" as Lions coach. He hasn't coached a game yet, hasn't even held a practice, and the front office is primarily to thank (or blame, depending on your point of view) for the team's free-agent and draft acquisitions.

"I’m undefeated right now, so it’s OK," Patricia said. "Let’s see what happens in October."

Not only have the Lions signed a pair of ex-New England Patriots (running back LeGarrette Blount and linebacker Jonathan Freeny) who played for or had a previous relationship with Patricia, but others have cited Patricia's influence as a major reason why they signed with the Lions.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Patricia's personality and resumé were both assets in attracting free agents, and he expects both to pay off when the Lions hit the field this fall.

"I think when the players sit down and talk to Matt, they get a real connection with him very early on," Quinn said. "As you guys have gotten to know him a little bit, he’s a very personable guy and you sit down and he tells you what he envisions the team’s going to be like this year, next year, into the future and then your role. Guys get excited. Guys watch the Patriots have won a lot of games over the years. So I think guys kind of see what he’s done with players and say, ‘I can do that,’ or, ‘I can do that better.’ So, I think it’s helped.”

On Tuesday, during an hour-long breakfast with reporters, Patricia was most at ease with the cameras off talking about his family and asking reporters about theirs.

He said he's not a golfer – "I can chase a ball around a golf course, but I’m not very good at it," he said – but does enjoy reading, something that is "completely opposite of what I was as a young person."

He tries to read a book every summer, doesn't have one picked out for this year yet, but in the past has read selections about the military, leadership, Paul Brown and the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team.

Before he became a father, Patricia said he and his wife, Raina, were avid travelers. They frequented Aruba, where they were married in 2009, and once took a three-week trip to Italy where they drove the country and visited the villages that their ancestors were from.

For the last seven years, Patricia said "Mickey Mouse has occupied most of my time," and he and his family are planning to sneak away for a visit to Disney World later this week before it's back to the grind of pro days and planning for the start of offseason workouts next month.

For Patricia, sleep will have to wait. It's football and family first.

"Now it's all about Disney," Patricia said. "The closest I get to Italy is Epcot, that’s about it. But I get to see a lot of countries on that tour so it’s fun."